Caryn Inman became the eighth Crusader to earn second team All-American honors Monday.

Dec. 4, 2006

OLATHE, Kan. -- The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced its selections for the 2006 NAIA Volleyball All-American teams Monday afternoon with five Crusaders earning honors.

Madonna was headlined by second team selection Caryn Inman (Oxford, MI/Oxford HS).  The senior led Madonna in kills with 656 and helped lead the Crusaders to their 10th straight WHAC title. This year's selection marks the second All-America honor for Inman who was a honorable mention honoree in 2005.

Making her debut on the All-America squad is Lubovj Tihomirova (Riga, Latvia/Rigas Gymnasia HS)  was named to the All-America third team after a stellar sophomore campaign that included 645 kills and 4.96 kills per game. 

Getting the job done on the court and in the classroom were four Crusaders who posted at least a 3.25 cumulative grade point average and were named Daktronics NAIA All-America Scholar Athletes.  The list included Inman, Heather Spooner (Woodhaven, MI/Woodhaven HS) , Jacqui Gatt (Livonia, MI/Churchill HS) and Amy Szymanski (Redford, MI/Ladywood HS).

Inman and Spooner are making their second straight appearance on the scholar athlete list. 

The selections are the latest in a long line of All-America volleyball players under Hall-of-Fame head coach Jerry Abraham.  Abraham has now seen 30 Crusaders earn first, second, third or honorable mention All-America honors and an additional 25 All-America scholar athletes. 

The awards are a capper for the squad who finished 38-5 and made their fifth straight trip to the NAIA National Championships after winning the league and regional championships.